Through the Years
by darknessfollows
Summary: My connection to her seemed inevitable and I finally settled for this; patience. She was not always going to be a child after all. I could wait. AMUTO. One-shot.


Just a little drabble. Written entirely in Ikuto's POV, focusing on Amu with very little attention to any other characters. X Enjoy! (and reviews are appreciated!)

xXx

She was ten when I met her, just an ordinary girl, and yet so fun to tease. Her reactions made everything worth while, the way she would try to maintain her cool demeanor, despite her glaring blush, and the sweat beading on her forehead. I was... interested, to say the least, but we were still worlds apart. She was little more than a child, around five years my junior. And we were enemies. Yes, it would be foolish to forget that. I didn't write her off though. I'm not sure I could have even if I wanted to. But I didn't pursue her either.

I just thought 'let's see where this goes' and carried on from there. She... caught me off guard. I found that her words could sting far more than I wanted them to. And then there were those brief moments when she got too close, and stared up at me with those large honey colored eyes. The innocence was so obvious in her quivering gaze, and a terrible thing began to dawn on me; she was _attractive._ Very attractive. Rose colored hair, flushing pale skin, smooth, defined features.

I could hardly believe my own emotions. She was a child! I pulled back; I thought to avoid her. But fate was pitted against me. Everywhere I turned, there she was, resolution glowing in her eyes as she defeated foe after foe. She was... beautiful. But so clumsy! Always putting herself into ridiculous situations, or reacting too slowly to an enemy. Too often I would have to jump in to save her, and then the awful sensation of her small body cradled in my arms would possess me, and I would only grip her tighter.

My connection to her seemed inevitable and I finally settled for this; patience. She was not _always_ going to be a child after all. I could wait.

Time crawls though. When she was eleven, the little king began to realize what a treasure he had been rejecting all along, and sought to remedy that. I could not allow it. I could not allow them to be together. Just because she was still too young for me didn't mean other men could have her. I think she was angry when I interrupted her date. But I couldn't let her forget me. I needed her to want me more than that boy.

It was proving difficult. Though I could tell she was strongly attracted to me, she would push her feelings for me aside, considering them little more than passing fantasies. I realized that I would have to be more forward with her. I had to secure her while I still could.

"Don't you have some one to love?" she asked me, her innocent eyes peering deep into mine.

I could not have asked for a better opportunity. I quickly pulled her to me, and whispered, "It's you."

I didn't want to let go of her. She felt so right lying there in my arms. But I could tell she still didn't understand. She was stiff in my embrace.

By the time she was twelve, I think she had grown used to the way I would pop up places, particularly when she was alone with boys. "Seriously, Ikuto!" she would complain. "If you want to see me, can't you pick a better time?"

I would just smirk and pull her towards me, maybe bury my face in her hair, or nibble at her ear. She blushed so easily.

Sometimes I would watch her at night, even crawl through her window and lay beside her for a while. She never woke, which was perhaps a little disappointing. Yet, at the same time, it gave me more freedom to come and go as I wished. I remember watching with amusement one day as her mother came barging into the room, loaded with shopping bags, squealing about her daughter's 'first bra'. I thought it was silly. I knew for a fact that Amu was still very underdeveloped, and did not need a bra at all. Still, her blush as her mother held up the tiny pieces of fabric was very entertaining.

By thirteen, the bras had become a necessity. However, things were changing. I was a senior in high school, and had begun to investigate universities and jobs alike. I had never really wanted to go to college when I was younger, but for some reason, I did then. I considered that I would be able to get a better job, and then take care of the girl I cared for. It was a foolish thought, but I couldn't banish it, so I worked hard at my grades and was accepted to a small university in northern japan.

The drawback... I would be further away from her. Other problems arose during this time as well. Yoru left me, saying I had become an adult and no longer needed his guidance. I pointed out to him that he was more of a burden than a guide, but that did not change that I was going to miss him. And without his powers, I was going to have to stop acting like a cat.

When I went to see her, she realized what had happened instantly, like she had a sixth sense that told her when I was in pain. That was the first time that _she_ ever embraced _me_. She and I sat on her bed for hours, me with my head in her lap as she stroked my hair tenderly. I felt all the doubt leave me, as though she was saying, "Go off and become an adult. I'll wait for you, too."

That was also the first night I'd ever kissed her. Nothing serious, of course, just a short, sweet good-bye. I didn't know how often I'd be able to come visit her. She fell asleep beside me as she often did, and I left her in the dark without a backward glance.

Time slowly passed. I came back once every few months to see her, though I tried not to be too distracted from my studies. There was one time when I went six months without returning to see her, but when I did, it was well worth the wait. She was fourteen at that point, and ran to me when she saw me standing outside the school. I could hardly believe the change. Her figure had matured greatly, her hair was curling softly down her back, but her eyes were the same as ever. Large. Amber. Innocent.

This time when I kissed her, it was a shameless thing, deep and passionate. It drew her classmate's attention, and sent a murmur of awe around us. Amu pulled away quickly, blushing hopelessly, and began to stutter something like, "I missed you. I'm glad you're alright."

I only took her hand and smiled, guiding her back to her home. Her fingers twisted nervously in mine the whole way, but I liked the feeling. _Soon,_ I told myself. Soon she wasn't going to be a child anymore.

I returned to the university with confidence and determination in mind. I had to do well in my studies, so that I could always support her.

I returned again in the summer and treasured those precious months I had with her. I took her everywhere I could think, amusement parks, beaches, or just out for ice cream. I didn't waste a minute of it, much to the distaste of her other male companions. The "little king" in particular grew to dislike me strongly, and then to love her even more. Poor Amu was oblivious, but I preferred it that way. The other boys that courted her never really understood her; they only began to admire her as she grew older and more beautiful. But in my eyes, she had always been beautiful, even when she was an awkward, blushing child.

I had beat them to her, and I had no intention to share. Even after summer ended, my visits became more and more frequent. So that I never left her long enough that she might forget me. I was more of a constant guardian at that point than a lover. My kisses were rare, though I could hardly refrain from touching her altogether. My fingers always seemed to find a way into her hair, even if I only planned to ruffle it.

As the new school year started, she a sophomore, I made a point of showing up after her classes and glaring pointedly at any boy that showed too much interest. I took her out on her fifteenth birthday, even though it meant missing a few days at the university. She got mad at me when she found out, saying that I should have my priorities in order, but she didn't understand that she was the reason I went to college in the first place.

Nonetheless, I returned to my apartment a little earlier than I had planned and studied hard, if only to make her happy. I just reminded myself over and over again that soon things would change.

The year passed much as the last one had, with me going out of my way to see her when I could. Summer came quickly enough, and my grades had survived my distracted thoughts, so I felt no qualms in going back to see her.

That brought about new and startling developments. I had always considered her attractive. I hadn't always considered her sexy. Through out the summery heat, I found myself admiring the way her hips swayed when she walked, or how her hair in a ponytail exposed the ivory skin of her neck. After the first beach trip, I knew better than to take her anywhere that required a swimsuit. She looked _much _too alluring, and she was still a child.

She turned sixteen in September, and I found myself warring with what was considered 'moral'. What age would define my ability to make love to her, and finally claim her as mine? Not sixteen, I decided. She was still too young, and it would be wrong to rob her of her innocence.

So I waited as patiently as a young man in love can, and watched her grow prettier by the day. I was certain never to take her somewhere where we were too 'alone', not wanting to increase the temptation unnecessarily.

She, however, began to develop other plans. I noticed that every so often her eyes would take on a lustful glaze when she looked at me, and that in itself was torture. I never let her kiss me or touch me when that occurred.

By seventeen, she had gotten to be very forward. I found it amusing that it had taken her seven years of knowing me to finally be comfortable with touching- and being touched by- me. She may have been "cool and easy going" on the outside, but inside she was as shy as ever.

With her new found confidence, my resolve began to weaken. Seventeen wasn't really a child, was it? And yet, her guardians remained. In the end, I set that as the mark. Amu, of course, went unintentionally out of her way to drive me insane. I wanted to yell at her to get some skirts of decent length.

Stupid girl. She ruined everything.

There was a rainy night when her parents had gone to her little sister's ballet recital, that we sat in her room alone, I stretched out across the bed and she sitting at the desk, studying. After a while, I dozed off, and when I awoke, she was leaning over me, her eyes glowing eagerly. I knew the look all too well, but could not quite escape, particularly when she began to kiss me hungrily, with a depth of need that neither of us has experienced. It happened so quickly, perhaps because the desires had been denied for so long. One minute she was kissing me and the next, we were both naked on the bed, releasing all the tension and frustration we had kept locked away for so long. It was the first time for us both, and I had honestly never felt anything more satisfying. I slept beside her, something I hadn't done in a long time. The feel of the night was intoxicating, and the feel of her hand in my mine only made it worse.

Morning brought with it a new wave of desire. I could not get enough of her. The sound of her voice was so sweet to me, and the way her cheeks flushed a hazy crimson was beautiful. I'd never seen her look more stunning than when she lay against the pillow, her hair pooling around her like a halo, her naked skin glistening with sweat as her chest rose and fell heavily.

"I love you," I confessed, leaning over her. I pressed my lips to her ear and added, "I want to be with you always." She shivered, whether it was from the idea or the proximity. I didn't care.

Her junior year passed quickly, dotted with bursts of color where we found time to be alone, but otherwise uneventful. I was suddenly glad that she was five years younger than me, since it meant that I would graduate college before she entered, and then I could live near whatever university she wanted to go to.

She ended up with an acceptance to Gifu University, which was a better school than I had managed. I managed to find a decent job at an office near there, and spent the summer preparing for her arrival. I got a call late in July and heard her sobbing out incoherent words, so I hurried back.

Her Guardian Charas had finally vanished, almost a full year after I had stolen her innocence. I understood the loss she felt and held her to me throughout the night, trying to comfort and calm her as best as I could. She was still so small in my arms, forever as light as a feather and as brittle as glass. I loved every horrible minute of it. She was an adult now by my standards, and free to be claimed (though I had already done so sexually).

The next day I took her out and proposed to her. She did not seem surprised by the request. She agreed, blushing like a tomato, to be my wife. We did not actually marry until she graduated college with a degree in education.

I remember seeing all the friends and family that gathered for her wedding, some I knew, but only a few. My family was there as well, as well as some friends I'd made in school and college, but that was a small number. Those there for Amu well outnumbered those there for me, but that didn't bother me.

I remember seeing the young man I had once called 'little king' offering his congratulations, a pretty brunette clinging to his arm and gazing at him adoringly. I wondered if that girl was his way of pretending that he was not still in love with my bride.

Still, I had to admire him. If things had turned out differently... if he had been the one up here, I could never have moved on. Amu meant too much to me. Somewhere along the way she had become my reason for existing. She was the reason I left Easter, she was the reason I denied every attractive girl that came my way, she was the reason I began to try, she was the reason I went to college and she was the reason I worked until six o'clock every evening, forcing a living that would support us both. She was my reason for breathing, and for smiling. She was one of the few who actually _could_ make me smile.

I adored her. I was addicted to her presence.

And as the doors opened and the music began to play, and she walked down the aisle in an ivory dress, I considered that things could _not_ have turned out differently. I would never have let it. That and... her glowing smile told me that she wouldn't have either.


End file.
